Archive for the ‘Ranting and Raving’ Category

PostHeaderIcon The King gets his Crown: The Dover 200 Review

Keeping An eye On The Flag From Start To Finish<br />
DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 25: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Toyota, celebrates on the track after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway on September 25, 2010 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

Keeping An eye On The Flag From Start To Finish
DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 25: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Toyota, celebrates on the track after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway on September 25, 2010 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

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King Nationwide Kyle Busch led an amazing 192 laps to set a single season record for wins.

There were only 200 laps in the race!

The Dover 200 will go down in history as the record setting 11th win for King Kyle.  Busch broke out the NOS Toyota to quickly take the lead from teammate Joey Logano, and he would not let it go.  Ryan Newman was the only other guy who sat P1 all day. 

King Kyle now has the top two spots in most wins in a season.  Busch was tied with Sam Ard with 10 in a record that no one thought would be broken.  What makes this record all that more impressive is the fact that Busch isn’t running the full season.

Also, Ard won 10 races in 1983 and Busch didn’t break it until now.  That’s how long it took for someone to even come close to the record.  Imagine if Busch would have run the entire year?

Not only would he probably be the point leader, but he could be going for his 15th win of the season. 

Only 3 cautions slowed the event, and the biggest one was Elliot Sadler getting loose and spinning out.  Drew Herring then had no chance of avoiding the #88 as it slid down the track.  Both were okay. 

Results and more after the JUMP!

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 2 18 Kyle Busch NOS Toyota 200 195 10 150.0 $46,320 Running 2 192
2 1 20 Joey Logano GameStop Toyota 200 175 5 121.0 $33,400 Running 1 3
3 3 60 Carl Edwards Copart Ford 200 165   124.4 $26,225 Running
4 6 32 Reed Sorenson Dollar General Toyota 200 160   113.2 $30,318 Running
5 9 33 Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Fan Club Chevy 200 155   111.7 $20,700 Running
6 8 99 Trevor Bayne Out! Pet Care Toyota 200 150   102.6 $26,368 Running
7 5 98 Paul Menard CertainTeed Windows/Menards Ford 200 146   104.8 $18,510 Running
8 12 38 Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota 200 142   96.5 $24,238 Running
9 7 12 Justin Allgaier Verizon Wireless Dodge 200 138   88.8 $24,293 Running
10 13 1 Ryan Newman Phoenix Construction Chevy 200 139 5 94.5 $18,675 Running 1 5
11 15 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # CitiFinancial Ford 200 130   90.0 $24,243 Running
12 10 66 Steve Wallace 5-hour Energy Toyota 200 127   95.5 $23,118 Running
13 23 11 Brian Scott # BigSpot.com Toyota 200 124   83.8 $25,618 Running
14 36 16 Erik Darnell 3M/Post-it Ford 200 121   78.6 $22,893 Running
15 11 15 Michael Annett Germain.com Toyota 200 118   85.2 $23,668 Running
16 20 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota 200 115   80.7 $22,743 Running
17 4 22 Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge 200 112   95.8 $16,400 Running
18 17 40 Mike Bliss Westerman Companies Chevy 200 109   76.5 $22,618 Running
19 25 01 Mike Wallace JDavisMotorsports.com Chevy 199 106   69.4 $22,568 Running
20 26 05 Willie Allen 31-W/ALS Association Chevy 198 103   70.4 $23,668 Running
21 27 09 Kelly Bires RAB Racing Ford 197 100   63.8 $22,468 Running
22 41 28 Kenny Wallace Federated Auto Parts Chevy 197 97   42.5 $22,368 Running
23 30 23 Marc Davis WHUR Radio Chevy 197 94   55.4 $22,693 Running
24 40 34 Tony Raines Long John Silver’s Chevy 196 91   59.2 $22,243 Running
25 32 87 Joe Nemechek Gator.com Chevy 196 88   59.1 $22,643 Running
26 34 70 Mark Green Blue Ox Chevy 196 85   44.0 $22,143 Running
27 33 35 Jason Keller TriStar Motorsports Chevy 196 82   54.1 $22,493 Running
28 43 81 Michael McDowell The Drive Reply App Dodge 194 79   40.6 $22,043 Running
29 19 24 Eric McClure Hefty Odor Block Ford 194 76   37.6 $21,968 Running
30 37 21 Morgan Shepherd Victory In Jesus Chevy 140 73   46.0 $22,218 Suspension
31 16 88 Elliott Sadler Realtree Outfitters Chevy 132 70   67.9 $15,395 Accident
32 21 27 Drew Herring Getloaded.com Ford 131 67   51.5 $21,803 Accident
33 38 04 Jeremy Clements Boudreaux’s/RepairableVehicles.com Chevy 122 64   46.4 $15,275 Ignition
34 35 73 Derrike Cope Raging Bid.com Dodge 108 61   43.3 $15,240 Accident
35 42 7 Danica Patrick GoDaddy.com Chevy 106 58   38.7 $21,678 Running
36 24 79 Tim Andrews 2nd Chance Race Parts Ford 77 55   53.7 $15,185 Transmission
37 22 90 Danny O’Quinn Jr. D’Hondt-Humphrey Motorsports Chevy 21 52   36.2 $15,165 Brakes
38 14 91 David Gilliland D’Hondt-Humphrey Motorsports Chevy 20 49   50.5 $15,100 Transmission
39 29 10 Josh Wise Braun Racing Toyota 17 46   40.6 $15,075 Transmission
40 31 89 Johnny Chapman Victory in Jesus Chevy 4 43   34.5 $15,020 Brakes
41 39 26 Brian Keselowski K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge 3 40   32.4 $14,995 Oil Pressure
42 18 92 Dennis Setzer K-Automotive Motorsports Dodge 2 37   32.4 $14,955 Handling
43 28 36 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Chevy 1 34   30.8 $14,898 Brakes

Even with Keselowski having a poor outing and Carl gaining some ground on him, Keso still has a 320 point lead.  It would take a New York Met style choke for Keso to lose the championship at this point.  With Brad moving to the Blue Deuce next year, we don’t know what his Nationwide plans are for next season but he could return to defend his championship, or we could see Parker Kligerman take over the #22.  Nothing has been rumored as of yet and I’ll keep you posted if anything is announced.

Here’s the battle for the top 30:

28 Keller 35 2,448
29 Richardson 23 2,445
30 Howard 70 2,416
31 Allen 05 2,338
32 McDowell 81 2,309
33 McClure 24 2,198

At this point it would take a really good run by either McDriver or Willie Allen and a rough outing by Keller, Richardson, or Howard to make any changes to the top 30.  The fight may be for 32nd and 33rd, as many rumors of teams in the top 30 shutting down after the season, many outside the top 30 will be trying to put themselves into the 2011 top 30.

As it gets closer to the end of the year, I hope to bring you a silly season list for 2011.  So far we have Trevor Bayne, Brian Scott, Justin Allgaier and many others rumored to be moving to different teams.

Next Saturday we head to Kansas for the 29th race of the 2010 season. 

Join us later in the week for a Preview of the Kansas Lottery 300!  Enjoy!


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PostHeaderIcon NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA 400 | Dover International Speedway Open Race Thread

DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 25: Denny Hamlin (L), driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, yells at Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, in the garage after an incident on track during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 25, 2010 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR)

DOVER, DE – SEPTEMBER 25: Denny Hamlin (L), driver of the #11 FedEx Express Toyota, yells at Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, in the garage after an incident on track during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 25, 2010 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Hey everyone, sorry I didn’t get any open race threads up yesterday I was called away suddenly and wasn’t near a computer all day and wouldn’t you know it there was some good action at the track yesterday:

  • Kyle Busch wins his 11th Nationwide race this year, that is is some feat for sure. 
  • Austin Dillion wins another in somewhat dominating fashion proving, at least to me, that this cat isn’t in the seat of the #3 truck just because he is the grandson of the truck owner but because he can drive.
  • Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick get into it on the track and in the garage area during practice.  Was it payback on Harvick’s part for ‘cheating’ comments made Friday by Hamlin essentially labeling RCR as a bunch of cheaters after the #33 was found to be outside of NASCAR mandated measurements last week?  Don’t know for sure but it certainly wasn’t denied by anyone at RCR and also prompted Hamlin to Tweet an apology to RCR fans – see prvious post.

All this sure makes good publicity for NASCAR and today’s race - speaking of which you’ll find the line-up after the jump, see you there.

 

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND
1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 155.736 23.116 Leader
2 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Insignia HDTV / Best Buy 155.642 23.130 -0.014
3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 155.353 23.173 -0.057
4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 155.320 23.178 -0.062
5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Target 155.052 23.218 -0.102
6 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 155.032 23.221 -0.105
7 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet McDonald’s 155.032 23.221 -0.105
8 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 154.825 23.252 -0.136
9 98 Paul Menard Ford Sylvania / Menards 154.766 23.261 -0.145
10 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 154.699 23.271 -0.155
11 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 154.619 23.283 -0.167
12 83 Reed Sorenson Toyota Red Bull 154.619 23.283 -0.167
13 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Haas Automation 154.593 23.287 -0.171
14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal 154.533 23.296 -0.180
15 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont / Law Enforcement Museum 154.520 23.298 -0.182
16 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser / Stanley 154.414 23.314 -0.198
17 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 154.367 23.321 -0.205
18 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 154.348 23.324 -0.208
19 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 154.228 23.342 -0.226
20 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 154.123 23.358 -0.242
21 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 154.083 23.364 -0.248
22 19 Elliott Sadler Ford U.S. Air Force 154.037 23.371 -0.255
23 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Bush’s Baked Beans / Scott Branded Products 154.017 23.374 -0.258
24 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 153.997 23.377 -0.261
25 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice 153.741 23.416 -0.300
26 13 Casey Mears Toyota GEICO 153.721 23.419 -0.303
27 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 153.682 23.425 -0.309
28 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota FrontRowJoe.com 153.662 23.428 -0.312
29 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 153.656 23.429 -0.313
30 34 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver’s 153.322 23.480 -0.364
31 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske Racing 153.302 23.483 -0.367
32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / Amp Energy 153.211 23.497 -0.381
33 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 153.048 23.522 -0.406
34 09 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Phoenix Construction 152.990 23.531 -0.415
35 38 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 152.957 23.536 -0.420
36 81 J.J. Yeley Dodge Whitney Motorsports 152.944 23.538 -0.422
37 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Tommy Baldwin Racing 152.562 23.597 -0.481
38 55 Mike Bliss Toyota Prism Motorsports 152.433 23.617 -0.501
39 71 Landon Cassill Chevrolet TRG Mtrsprts
/ TaxSlayer.com
152.355 23.629 -0.513
40 7 Kevin Conway+* Toyota Extenze 150.301 23.952 -0.836
41 37 Tony Raines+ Ford A&W All American Food 149.701 24.048 -0.932
42 5 Mark Martin+ Chevrolet Delphi / Go D
addy.com
155.561 23.142 -0.026
43 46 Michael McDowell Dodge Whitney Motorsports 151.796 23.716 -0.600
Did Not Qualify
44 26 Jeff Green Ford Air National Guard 151.675 23.735 -0.619
45 164 Josh Wise Toyota Gunselman Motorsports 150.546 23.913 -0.797
46 66 Ted Musgrave Toyota Prism Motorsports 149.483 24.083 -0.967
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie

via nascar.com

 


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PostHeaderIcon NASCAR Twitter Call

  It’s the 2nd race of the Chase this weekend at the Monster Mile in Dover. After his less then stellar performance last Sunday, Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole with AJ Allmendinger starting P2.

jpmontoya had a pretty good day today, weather is supposed to cool down for tomorrow!!!!

scottspeed So decided to walk instead of drive to dinner tonight.. Was about 2 miles, longer than @Amanda_Speed thought it would be lol lil sweaty

KevinHarvick Good day all around cup car is good…all for 1 and 1 for all!

dennyhamlin sorry all RCR fans.. im not bashing clint, richard or anyone else.. just defending Nascar on this one.. all these teams work damn hard

Regan_Smith_ I’m sorry but watching games on boisies blue field makes me sick to my stomach…. I still hope they win though

Mc_Driver  Broke a sway bar heim in the #NNS race made for a long day. My fun meter is almost pegged. @drivereply sorry about the race. #81#Dover

skiprec this one will be debated for weeks RC has some good points but NASCAR has the right tools in place to know the differnce either way big news

Hoping for a great race Sunday.

 NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s NASCAR Driver Twitter List

 



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PostHeaderIcon Live Race Chats This Weekend!

Live Race Chats This Weekend!

Don’t forget NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s Open Race Threads this weekend, including for Sunday’s AAA 400. The regulars are building a nice and non-threatening community. Don’t miss it!


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PostHeaderIcon Darrell and Michael Waltrip battle it out on Inside NASCAR

In case you missed it here is a clip of what the Brother’s Waltrip had to say about The Chase, Jimmie Johnson, and whether Dale Jr will be staying with Hendrick Motorsports.


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PostHeaderIcon Cup and Nationwide To Move to 6-Man Pit Crew in 2011

Cup and Nationwide To Move to 6-Man Pit Crew in 2011

Jayski is reporting that the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series will be going to the same six man pit crew format that the Truck Series has been running this season, starting at Daytona in 2011. They will be using a similar single-point, self-venting probe and dry brake system


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PostHeaderIcon Spoiler! Haggard Says Harvick Wins Title

RICHMOND VA - SEPTEMBER 11:  (Back row from L-R) The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase contenders Denny Hamlin driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota Matt Kenseth driver of the #17 Crown Royal Ford Carl Edwards driver of the #99 Kellogg's/Cheez-It Ford Greg Biffle driver of the #16 3M Ford Kurt Busch driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Tony Stewart driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet  Kyle Busch driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota Jeff Gordon driver of the #24 DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet (Front row L-R) Kevin Harvick driver of the #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Jeff Burton driver of the #31 Caterpilliar Chevrolet  Jimmie Johnson driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet  Clint Bowyer driver of the #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet pose following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 11 2010 in Richmond Virginia.  (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Rusty Jarrett – Getty Images for NASCAR

10 days ago:

RICHMOND VA – SEPTEMBER 11: (Back row from L-R) The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase contenders Denny Hamlin driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota Matt Kenseth driver of the #17 Crown Royal Ford Carl Edwards driver of the #99 Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford Greg Biffle driver of the #16 3M Ford Kurt Busch driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Tony Stewart driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Kyle Busch driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota Jeff Gordon driver of the #24 DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet (Front row L-R) Kevin Harvick driver of the #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet Jeff Burton driver of the #31 Caterpilliar Chevrolet Jimmie Johnson driver of the #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet Clint Bowyer driver of the #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet pose following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 11 2010 in Richmond Virginia. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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Denny Hamlin’s victory at Richmond International raceway closed out NASCAR’s regular season and signaled the start of the Chase for the Championship.

The win also gave Hamlin ten additional bonus points, placing him at the top of NASCAR’s version of the playoffs, just ten points ahead of four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

With 12 drivers starting the playoffs within 60 points, wins are still a priority in NASCAR’s closest Chase format yet. Hamlin enters as the favorite but any of the other 11 still has to feel confident about their standing going into Homestead-Miami at the end of the season.

Your contenders can be found after the jump!

Denny Hamlin: The Midlothian, VA native led the Cup Series with six wins in the first 26 races and will lead the series entering New Hampshire. Mechanical failures and several accidents dropped Hamlin to seventh in the regular season standings and the Gibbs’ driver will have to overcome this type of problem if he wants to win his first championship. If Hamlin has any modicum of luck, he leaves Miami as a NASCAR champion.

Jimmie Johnson – The fourtime and defending champion has to enter the Chase as the favorite. The preseason media championship pick won five races in the first 26 and delivered an average finish of 14.9 (the worst of his career) and tassels with his teammate Jeff Gordon may have taken the luster off of “Four-Time”. But make no mistake, the Chase belongs to Johnson  and crew chief Chad Knaus and 2010 should be no different. The Chase runs through the 48 team this fall.

Kevin Harvick – The regualar season champion (we really need a bonus point for this feat) enters the Chase in third place and really finished the first 26 races strong. Harvick is powerful on superspeedways, the bulk of the Chase, and seems to have found right balance between winning races and consistency. It’s almost unfair to label Harvick as a dark horse but that’s exactly what he’s become against Johnson and Hamlin.

Jeff Gordon – Poor Jeff Gordon. Could you have ever imagined saying such a thing entering the start of the decade? After four championships from 1996-2001, Gordon has been absolutely robbed of two titles by the playoffs. Restarts haven’t been kind for Big Daddy. Neither in the standings or individual races. Gordon must overcomes both if he’s to finally end the Drive for Five with a title in November.

Kyle Busch – The Chase for the Championship was designed for a man like the younger Busch. The take off the gloves and go for broke will suit the brash Busch well over the final ten. Busch’s problems in the past has been making the Championship. With four series victories, Kyle has to be considered a strong favorite in ending Hendrick’s dominance or his teammate’s ambitions.

Kurt Busch – The elder Busch has been here before. In fact, he won the very first Chase for the Championship back in 2004. But times have changed. Busch won the Championship, winning only the opener in Loudon. He average an eighth-place finish and won what was easily the most compelling Chase format in history. But Busch has conceded that wins and a top-5 average is what it takes to win in 2010. Don’t count out Busch and owner Roger Penske as championships just come natural to the two.

Carl Edwards – Edwards has to have the most boring and consistent productive season in the history of auto racing. Leading only a handful of laps in 2010, Edwards still managed a fourth place regular season standings finish. But make no mistake, this won’t cut it over the final ten.

Tony Stewart – The final half of the season has been very good for Tony Stewart, as it has accounted for 11 of his race victories and both of his Cup Series Championships. It’ll take another of his patented late-season charges if he’s to win his third career title.

Matt Kenseth – The Chase for the Championship is often called the Matt Kenseth rule as the format was adopted after his mildly consistent, one-win, championship season. As such, the Chase has been mostly a dissapointment for Kenseth and the no. 17 team. It’ll take the one thing that most said he needed back in 2003 to win the championship in 2010 – wins.

Jeff Burton – It’s said that the mark of a champion is an athlete who manages to do most with very little. That’s Jeff Burton in a nutshell. Both Roush Racing and RCR has been guilty over the years of underwhelming the South Boston, Va. native with surrounding talent. Yet Burton keeps chugging on. Burton is no closer to a championship in 2010 then he has ever been. He’s a poor man’s Jeff Gordon in this Chase while a rich man’s Matt Kenseth. No buys.

Clint Bowyer – Oh Bowyer. Late Charger en route to the Chase and an early riser inside the playoffs. If this team can ever nail their timing and hit their stride, they’ll be real championship contenders. It just won’t be this year.

Greg Biffle – What’s to be said of Greg Biffle that hasn’t already been said. It’s an almost insulting line toward a driver that just doesn’t have much said of him already. Biffle is annoyingly consistent, racking up top-10s without winning or even contending for wins. It’s the type of career that has made him an owner’s favorite, a sponsor safe pick and a perrenial Championship non-contender. The affable Biffle is going to have to get tough if he’s going to make a run at his first Cup Championship.

So what is my take? How does the Chase for the Championship end after the dust has settled in Miami? Here’s a surprise: Kevin Harvick, the ‘Right Blend’ as I have dubbed him will do what he’s done all year long and drop consecutive top-fives and occasional wins right into the NASCAR history books. Harvick will edge Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon and etch his name as one of the all-time greats.

My final Chase for the Championship standings:

  1. Harvick
  2. Hamlin
  3. Gordon
  4. Bowyer
  5. Johnson
  6. Ku. Busch
  7. Ky. Busch
  8. Stewart
  9. Edwards
  10. Kenseth
  11. Burton
  12. Biffle

These standings are likely jarring, even for those accustomed to reading ‘ridiculous’ all weekend long leading up to New Hampshire. That being said, I would be more than comfortable placing money, or at least a month’s supply of cat food on this.

Warning: My cat eats…a lot.

So much like Fearless Leader asked in his earlier post, what’s your take? Any grivences?

Matt Weaver is the Sports Editor for the Vanguard (USA) and can be reached at jmatthewweaver(at)aol.com


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PostHeaderIcon No. 33 Crew Chief to Meet With NASCAR Re: Possible Infractions

LOUDON NH - SEPTEMBER 19:  Shane Wilson (C) crew chief of the #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet celebrates with driver Clint Bowyer (L) after Bowyer won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 19 2010 in Loudon New Hampshire.  (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Jason Smith – Getty Images for NASCAR

1 day ago:

LOUDON NH – SEPTEMBER 19: Shane Wilson (C) crew chief of the #33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet celebrates with driver Clint Bowyer (L) after Bowyer won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 19 2010 in Loudon New Hampshire. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

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In what should be a non-issue, NASCAR is meeting with RCR on Tuesday as a precautionary measure in regard to the no. 33 team. It seems that Clint Bowyer’s team did just about everything they possibly in order to have their driver represent the organization in the Chase for the Championship.

They did so much in fact, that it appears they nearly violated several NASCAR infractions on their way to snagging the final spot the playoffs in last week’s Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Speedway.

There’s more after the fold.

The meeting has been schedule for this morning and NASCAR competition chief Robin Pemberton has decided that NASCAR will keep the car until a meeting has concluded.

“They were in the box, but getting close to some of the tolerances and we asked them to come in to see if they aren’t getting off on one of their build sheets,” NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton told The Associated Press.

“We have had their cars in quite a bit, and they were always spot-on. This one just seemed to be different, and we felt we owed it to them to make sure they just aren’t off in one area.”

Now I appreciate NASCAR’s diligence and consideration toward the no. 33 team but if this meeting is meant to scold the RCR team for building a competitive while legal car, then I have some questions.

This is a typical NASCAR move to someone building a car that’s just outside of their pencil-written rule-book. My guess is that the over-used ‘actions detrimental to stock car racing’ will come up several times today, if not getting a full rewrite in the coming days due to Bowyer’s team.

If this is indeed just a fair warning by the league meant to aid one of their most loyal competitors, then kudos to NASCAR.

But the sanctioning body has had a history trying to one-up their best crew chiefs. They’ll never beat a Chad Knaus so I fear that it makes Shane Wilson an easy target. On the flip side NASCAR could easily be trying to avoid a public relations nightmare, dealing with a team that potentially stole a playoff berth.

But Pemberton shot down speculation that RCR was given a pass because NASCAR didn’t want to spoil the build up to the Chase opener.

“If there was something more to this, we would move the car under the dark of night and hide it in a crypt somewhere where nobody can see it,” he said. “We’re going to get criticized for everything we do anyway. People are through here all the time (R&D Center) and can see what’s here. There are no shenanigans.”

Regardless of the final outcome, a penalty against Bowyer  wouldn’t likely have made a difference. The penalty for failed inspections runs anywhere from 50-to-100 points, and Bowyer had a 142-point lead over Ryan Newman at the end of the Richmond race.

But whatever the final outcome may be, just stay consistent NASCAR. Yes Bowyer’s team is in the Chase. But If Wilson beat you, then praise him for his ingenuity. If he cheated the system then a fine and penalty to the crew must come. Just be consistent.

Matt Weaver is the Sports Editor for the Vanguard (USA) and can be reached at jmatthewweaver(at)aol.com


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PostHeaderIcon The Chase is on! Let’s hear what NASCAR RnR’s self-proclaimed ‘experts’ have to say

The 12 drivers that will compete in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field pose after the Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway via nascar-assets.americaneagle.comCredit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

The 12 drivers that will compete in the 2010 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field pose after the Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway via nascar-assets.americaneagle.comCredit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

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Another Chase season is upon us and with the top 12 drivers having their points re-established it is almost like starting over which is a good thing if you’re in the bottom half of the 12 after the first 26 races.

It has been a bit of a tradition here at NASCAR RnR to break down the the Chase drivers and boldly predict the eventually finishing order of the Championship Chase.  Well in keeping with that tradition we also bring you a special feature in which some of our more frequent contributors give us their thoughts of the Chase.

Just head on to the other side of the jump to find out what we’ve predicted.  I personally use a crystal ball but don’t tell anyone, especially Clance from The Church of the Great Oval, she would get really upset with me since it is hers that I’ve been using these last few years (and she thought she lost it when she moved from one State to another – heh).

First we start off with the biggest Tony Stewart fan out there, Aaron (I think I know where this is going):

The story of the 2010 Chase will be what driver best survived the 10-race playoff to claim the championship, not the driver who dominated.


That’s not to say a driver might not dominate the Chase. Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch all jump out as potential threats to win at least half the races on the Chase schedule, and resurgent Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Tony Stewart also look like they could add to their trophy cases more than a couple of times in the Chase.


However, each of those six drivers have dealt with streaks of disappointing results, either due to performance or just bad luck, and any stretch of bad races will end their title hopes in a hurry.


Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, and Matt Kenseth are all chasing the title, but the winless quartet has struggled to sustain momentum and only Burton and Gordon have exhibited potential race-winning form. A victory may not be necessary to win the Chase, but consistent top-fives will be.


That leaves regular season point leader Kevin Harvick. Of the 12 Chasers, no one has been able to put together the combination of speed and consistency better than Harvick, and if he continues to do so for ten more weeks, it will be the perfect storm that carries the California native to his first Sprint Cup title, making him the second driver to win the Chase after ending the regular season atop the standings (Stewart in 2005), as well only the second driver to win both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide titles in their careers, joining Bobby Labonte.

 

Hmm … Kevin  and not Tony Stewart?  I guess I was wrong with that one.  Let’s see what Melissa, aka TrackGirl, has to say:

 

It is that time of year again. The Chase for the Nextel Cup brings out some of the fiercest racing and some of the most calculated racing in the whole season. The drivers in the Chase must weigh wins to points and careful driving to winning it all.

I always wish this was the time of year that the drivers went all out; you know what to the wall kind of racing… but it really does become a set of races that require drivers to consider whether or not the win is worth the risk, points wise.

I sincerely hope that a sleeper comes out this year. I always hope Kyle Busch will show what he is really made of, but he always seems to fade out in the Chase. I pull for Burton and Bowyer, my favorite underdogs. (They aren’t really though, are they?) I would love to see the 14 come out on top, an owner driver? Cool. But you know, I think that I can say I know this sport; and danged if Johnson isn’t going to pull together with Knaus and kick the other drivers’ rear bumpers from here to Homestead. I just bet that the 48 will win, one more time. I think that Johnson and Knaus want to make a point that they haven’t slumped, or lost it, or faded away and I think that the Chase is where they will prove it.

Wait!  Jimmie Johnson?  Whoa, didn’t see that coming, I honestly thought she would be pulling for The Biff or Cousin Carl.  What do I know?

 O.K. now its time for my pick.  What?  Where are Matt’s and Troys?  Dunno.  Actually Matt is doing something different while Troy our Nationwide guy is MIA at the moment with some severe computer problems.

O.K. can I now get to my picks?  What?  Another question?  O.K, O.K., what is it now?  Were these predictions made before or after yesterday’s race?  Before, I just couldn’t get them up in time wihtout really cutting into the Open Race Thread (we had a very busy day with that thread yesterday let me tell you).

Now let me peer into Clance’s … er um … my crystal ball and find out the finishing order from 12th to 1st.  The images are spinning around tighter and faster than 43 cars racing the highbanks of Bristol.  What’s that I see?  A car.  Its slowing down, almost stopping caught in the orb’s mystic green glow.  What is the number on the side?

12)  17 – Matt Kenseth:  Sorry Matt you may be a past Champion but your team is not Championship material (yet, wait until next year).

11)  33 – Clint Bowyer:  His team is on the verge of something great – just not this year.  If he can some wins under his belt look for him to be top 5 next year.

10)  16 – Greg Biffle:  I like Greg but that still won’t make him finish higher than 10th (OK maybe 8th).

9)  31 – Jeff Burton:  I would really like to see Burton win the Championship but I think he is the next Mark Martin in waiting

8)  99 – Carl Edwards:  The highest finisher of the Roush clan and once they get that new motor figured out look out for him and the rest of his brethren next year.

7)  24 – Jeff Gordon:  He may want it just as bad a Jimmie but he doesn’t have Chad, Jimmie does.

6)  2 – Kurt Busch:  He may not have any teammates to help him in the Chase like the other drivers (except Stewart – on paper anyway) but that won’t matter anyway, he’d still finish around this area in the standings.  Great strides made this year and look for him to be a contender next year, just not this year.

5)  11 – Denny Hamlin:  Good driver, just not a great one – yet.  He needs to mature a little more.  He has shown great strides this year, especially with the whole knee deal, but he’s not quite there yet.  Give him 2 yrs.

4)  29 – Kevin Harvick:  Unfortunately the regular season counts for squat during the Chase.  I really want him to win, but I think his team is going to make mistakes down the stretch that even Kevin can’t drive them back from.

3)  18 – Kyle Busch:  He’s here because he is a good driver, not as mature as he should be but a whole lot mature than he used to be.  This kid is talented and will win multiple Championships down the road, maybe even next year but just not this year.

2)  14 – Tony Stewart:  He is calm, cool, collected, and best friends with his car owner but he is missing the key ingredient that Jimmie Johnson has, Chad Knaus.

1)  48 – Jimmie Johnson:  His record setting 5-peat can be summed up in two words, Chad Knaus.  Rick Hendrick better do everything in his power to keep these two together because I don’t know if Jimmie will ever win another Championship without Chad on his Pit Box.  You need to only look at Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon to see what I’m talking about.

O.K. that’s it, tell me what you think?  Are we close or way out to lunch?  Come on give it to us, we can take it!


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PostHeaderIcon NASCAR Sprint Cup Sylvania 300 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway Open Race Thread

Brad Keselowski celebrates winning the Coors Light Pole Award for the SYLVANIA 300 with a lap of 28.515 seconds, 133.572 mph. This is his first pole in 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Brad Keselowski celebrates winning the Coors Light Pole Award for the SYLVANIA 300 with a lap of 28.515 seconds, 133.572 mph. This is his first pole in 44 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

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‘The Kez’ grabs the pole for today’s race.  It looks like he’s turning into another ‘Rocket Man’ for Penske. 

So The Chase begins today.  Who will suck it up and perform well and who will crash and burn as The Chase begins? 

Only 10 races to decide who the Champion will be and as a driver you can’t mess up any one of them.  Sure you can falter a bit, but get a DNF and you’re toast. 

Let’s find out who the toaster fodder is going to be shall we?

 

POS CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR SPEED TIME BEHIND
1 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge Penske / AAA 133.572 28.515 Leader
2 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Cheerios / Hamburger Helper 133.464 28.538 -0.023
3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Office Depot / Old Spice 133.413 28.549 -0.034
4 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet McDonald’s 133.389 28.554 -0.039
5 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet Energizer 133.357 28.561 -0.046
6 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford Insignia HDTV / Best Buy 133.273 28.579 -0.064
7 00 David Reutimann Toyota Tums 133.249 28.584 -0.069
8 98 Paul Menard Ford Sylvania / Menards 133.105 28.615 -0.100
9 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 133.096 28.617 -0.102
10 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 133.040 28.629 -0.114
11 6 David Ragan Ford UPS 132.970 28.644 -0.129
12 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 132.864 28.667 -0.152
13 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Caterpillar 132.711 28.700 -0.185
14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 132.637 28.716 -0.201
15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Mobil 1 132.540 28.737 -0.222
16 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 132.429 28.761 -0.246
17 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet National Guard Facebook / DuPont 132.310 28.787 -0.272
18 13 Casey Mears Toyota GEICO 132.199 28.811 -0.296
19 19 Elliott Sadler Ford U.S. Air Force 132.167 28.818 -0.303
20 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet Furniture Row Companies 132.117 28.829 -0.314
21 9 Kasey Kahne Ford Budweiser 132.099 28.833 -0.318
22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Small Business 132.094 28.834 -0.319
23 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota Kingsford / Bush’s Beans 132.085 28.836 -0.321
24 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet U.S. Army 132.057 28.842 -0.327
25 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Johns Manville 131.993 28.856 -0.341
26 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet GoDaddy.com 131.980 28.859 -0.344
27 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 131.884 28.880 -0.365
28 82 Scott Speed Toyota Red Bull 131.719 28.916 -0.401
29 7 Robby Gordon Toyota SpeedFactory.tv 131.615 28.939 -0.424
30 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet Mohawk Northeast 131.533 28.957 -0.442
31 20 Joey Logano Toyota The Home Depot 131.193 29.032 -0.517
32 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Amp Energy / National Guard 131.139 29.044 -0.529
33 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Crown Royal 131.022 29.070 -0.555
34 164 Landon Cassill Toyota Gunselman Motorsports 130.837 29.111 -0.596
35 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota FrontRowJoe.com 130.676 29.147 -0.632
36 55 Mike Bliss Toyota Prism Motorsports 129.998 29.299 -0.784
37 83 Reed Sorenson Toyota Red Bull 129.825 29.338 -0.823
38 46 Michael McDowell Dodge Whitney Motorsports 129.525 29.406 -0.891
39 37 David Gilliland Ford Taco Bell 129.481 29.416 -0.901
40 38 Travis Kvapil Ford Long John Silver’s 129.204 29.479 -0.964
41 34 Tony Raines+ Ford A&W All American Food 128.754 29.582 -1.067
42 71 Andy Lally+ Chevrolet TRG Motorsports 128.680 29.599 -1.084
43 09 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet Phoenix Construction Champion’s Provisional
Did Not Qualify
44 66 Johnny Sauter Toyota Prism Motorsports 128.811 29.569 -1.054
45 26 Jeff Green Ford Air National Guard 128.437 29.655 -1.140
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie

via nascar.com


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